SB1255: Smartchart Network Program; renames Emergency Department Care Coordination Program, report.

Legislative Summary

Smartchart Network Program. Renames the Emergency Department Care Coordination Program as the Smartchart Network Program and expands the Program to allow participation by all health care providers, insurance carriers, and other organizations with a treatment, payment, or operations relationship with a patient in the Commonwealth to facilitate real-time communication and collaboration. Under current law, participation is limited to hospital emergency departments. The bill makes several other modifications to the Program, including adding a requirement that the Program allow health care providers, health care entities, and insurance carriers to access information necessary to evaluate and monitor the care and treatment of a patient in accordance with applicable patient privacy and security requirements and adding a requirement that such entities continue to improve care coordination in hospital emergency departments in order to reduce the frequency of visits by high-volume emergency department utilizers. The bill also directs the State Health Commissioner and the Director of the Department of Health Professions to convene a work group to study and establish a plan to develop and implement a system to share information regarding a patient's prescription history and medication reconciliation. The bill requires the Commissioner and the Director to report their findings and recommendations to the Chairmen of the Joint Commission on Health Care, Senate Committee on Education and Health, and House Committee on Health, Welfare and Institutions by October 1, 2023. The provisions of the bill other than creation of the work group have a delayed effective date of January 1, 2024.